From a once reputable and profitable airline, the PIA over the last ten years has been relegated to a loss making airline, with the poorest flight regularity record in the world as declared by Flight Stats. Every government has abused this airline by appointing corrupt mediocrity whose sole objective was personal gains while the airline losses kept on escalating. During the last two years and five months, the accumulative losses are in the range of over Rs 46 billion, which are more than the total accumulated losses of Rs 42 billion over the previous ten years.
PIA aircraft utilization is at an all time low although their fleet consists of new Boeing 777s and ATRs. The average fleet life of PIA is comparable to other airlines of repute like Delta, which are running in profit. Although PIA claims a passenger load seat factor of over 75 percent, yet the losses have climbed astronomically high. This management has taken more short term loans from banks than any other previous management.
The airline losses and liabilities are to the tune over Rs 200 billion. In spite of such a dismal picture, this management and the government wants to induct 16 more aircrafts, while it has failed to utilize their present fleet to their optimum use. All this does not make sense except that somebody wants more kickbacks and commissions. It is the same old story of yet another business plan justifying another major procurement of aircrafts, although the Business Plan that was submitted in 2001 for induction of Boeing 777 never achieved the declared objectives.
In the language of software engineers, “garbage in, garbage out”. The only remedy is to privatize this airline and save it from humiliation. But the billion dollar question, who will allow this?
TAHIR HASSAN
New York, USA